Talk:Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block disambig

Any thoughts on a disambig page? There's also a sitting federal judge named Lawrence (J.) Block, for whom I just started a page. - Loweeel 20:09, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

As long as there are only two, a simple disambig statement at the top of each page--which I've done--should suffice. If another one or two Lawrence Blocks turn up, then we'll need a dab page.--ShelfSkewed 04:03, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Killing Castro

The paperback states that the book was first published the year before the Cuban Missile Crisis under a pseudonym Block used neither before nor since. Varlaam (talk) 17:02, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Right you are. According to LB's website it was published in 1961 under the name Lee Duncan. And the 2008 A Diet of Treacle is a reprint, but the original was also listed. I've reorganized the section a bit. --ShelfSkewed Talk 17:40, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

This is why it pays to browse the remaindered book table whilst shopping for milk. I miss out on a nice cup of tea, but the entire world is the beneficiary. Varlaam (talk) 17:51, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Interchangeable?

"Originally published as paperbacks, the early novels are interchangeable..." What is that trying to say? 68.173.255.96 (talk) 22:51, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

I assume he means the plots are similar and there's no particular progression from one book to the next, because Block hadn't yet begun to develop Scudder as a continuing character. You could read them in any order and never know the difference. --Michael K Smith^Talk 12:20, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

Misleading link

The link from "Eight Million Ways to Die" in the bibliography section actually takes you to a page for the film of the same name, not to the book itself. I couldn't even find a page for the book (which I haven't read) so there may not be one yet -- but as it is, it needs to be fixed. --Michael K Smith^Talk 12:23, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

"Unjustified" cover image removed

I added a fair use image of the cover art for Getting Off, which admin Future Perfect at Sunrise deleted from the article as "unjustified". I have previously added fair use cover art, like that for Caresse Crosby. Please educate me: what Wikipedia policy makes this image unjustified? And exactly what is a "justified" usage?

I'm sure those like me who are less familiar with WP policies and procedures would appreciate it if administrators would act with a bit more due process, leaving a clear reason about why they take action, and less rashly and cavalierly, — btphelps ^{(talk) (contribs)} 05:47, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

We use book cover pictures for visual identification in articles about the individual book. We do not use them for illustrating randomly chosen items within lists of books in articles about authors. This is because in that context they don't contribute significantly to the reader's understanding of the topic. If all the other items in that list can be understood without an illustration, why is this particular entry in need of one? Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:47, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Chip Harrison

I recently purchased a copy of "No Score" based on my love of Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe. I was shocked to discover that this novel had nothing to do with any nod to the Rex Stout books. After further research on-line, I discovered that the first two books in the Chip Harrison series are about a seventeen year old who is concerned with losing his virginity. It seems that after writing "No Score" (1970) and "Chip Harrison Scores Again" (1971) to little success; Block retained the Chip Harrison name but aged him into the sidekick of the Leo Haig character (version of Nero Wolfe). This was the basis of "Make Out With Murder" (1974) and "The Topless Tulip Caper" (1975). I assume that the short story published in 1997 is also in the Leo Haig/Nero Wolfe mode.

Will someone who has access to the Chip Harrison series materials, please confirm this information and re-write section 5?

Mariner373 (talk) 00:50, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Citations

I'm surprised such a large and detailed article has so few citations. Besides the awards section, there are only three of them. --V2Blast (talk) 06:20, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Confusing Section

In the Other Works section, it mentions that by 2003, 12 Ehrengraf stories had been published. Then it goes on to say "in 2012 Block completed an eleventh story." If he had written 12 stories by 2003, how is it that he only wrote the 11th story in 2012? There is something wrong with this statement that doesn't add up, but I don't know which number, if either, is correct. HaarFager (talk) 08:52, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Benjamin Morse M.D.

As is well known, Lawrence Block wrote a number of fictional medical case study books in the 1960s under the pen name Benjamin Morse M.D. He wrote about this himself here in 2012. You find more about this online in various places, a.o. here about his medical pulp book The Lesbian (1961), and in the article '9 Books About Lesbian Sex By Men Pretending To Be Doctors' (2013). I hope someone will add this to the article some time. Valdymont (talk) 07:46, 12 May 2018 (UTC)